


Love is stronger

by WickedHeadache



Series: The bandit, the prince and the evil queen. [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Emma Swan Friendship, Minor Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood, Multi, POV Emma Swan, POV Third Person, Polyamory, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 04:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17573564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedHeadache/pseuds/WickedHeadache
Summary: Emma observes her parents' relationship with Regina develop in front of her eyes. The trigger, Neverland, the Missing Year... Seems like a pretty weird friendship growing from a three decades old feud, yet Emma keeps feeling like she's missing something.





	Love is stronger

**Author's Note:**

> Just to make it clear: I barely know anything about polyamorous relationships, so there's the big chance that I got something wrong.  
> Anyways, I love Evil Snowing and, if no one writes anything about, then I will.  
> And I did, so... This is what happened.

Emma sat on the stairs, David was rubbing her back as her face stayed pale and her eyes, red-rimmed. The recent events filled her with pain. Her first love just died. She rubbed her eyes with her fists, deciding that she definitely didn’t want to think about that.

 

Henry almost lost another one of his parents. She looked at the former queen lying in her parents’ bed and could feel some resemblance of pity for the woman, which transformed into worry as she lied eyes on the burn marks in her forehead. Blue finished her job, and got out of the loft instantly, leaving Snow staring at Regina as she woke up. Emma grimaced. That seemed like a terrible idea; she didn’t imagine that it wouldn’t be a nice experience waking up after being tortured to find your worst enemy seeing you in a position of weakness. Also, this was Regina, who could hold a grudge for more than three decades and tried to kill them multiple times. Emma didn’t find it beneath her to try to kill them for saving her life.

 

Then, just an expression of confusion was on Regina’s face when she woke up. She didn’t try to move nor even glare at them, which was a first. Snow had a wet cloth on her forehead, and David approached to them. So Emma gave them a glance and observed them -- she may as well have a distraction.

 

“You… You saved me?,” the former queen whispered.

 

“Yes,” Snow answered.

 

“You think we’d let you die?” David added. And something unexpected happened then: Regina inhaled sharply and cried in silence. “Despite our differences, we are family.”

 

Emma didn’t understand why Regina reacted so emotional at that. Why she refused to meet Snow and David’s eyes.

 

The woman sucked on breath again, blinking at the ceiling as she asked, “where are they? Where are Greg and Tamara?” With her voice hoarse.

 

“They got away.”

 

Her eyes widened. “Oh, so they still have it,” she said.

 

“They have what?” Snow asked exactly what Emma was thinking.

 

“It’s a trigger.”

 

“A trigger?” David narrowed her eyes.

 

“That will destroy Storybrooke. I had a fail-safe builded inside the curse.”

 

“And why exactly were you carrying it around?”

 

“She was going to destroy us, Mary Margaret,” David realized.

 

“I was going to use the beans and take Henry back to the Enchanted Forest.”

 

“And in the process, kill all of us,” Snow said, horrified.

 

“You want to discuss justification? You were going to abandon me,” Regina remarked, somehow with defiance in her eyes. Snow and David looked away. “Or shall we discuss a more pressing issue? Which is that I no longer control the trigger.”

 

* * *

  


They were in the Jolly Roger, on their way to rescue Henry after he was kidnapped by Peter Pan. Yes, he is real, too. And apparently he’s also a child kidnapper and a living nightmare. So much eternal youth and freedom.

 

Hook and Regina were together, towards the rudder, probably doing some villainly bonding. They seemed to get along, which was odd because, if Emma was on Regina’s place, she wouldn’t had forgotten so easily that thanks to him she was tortured. On the other side of the ship, there were her parents, way too close to Emma, and with way too many hopes after she called them ‘mom’ and ‘dad’.

 

Snow and David were being especially distrustful towards Regina. Not that Emma could blame them. But sometimes she looked at Regina’s way to find her staring at them with a pained expression that Emma wasn’t able to understand. Then her face hardened and her eyes filled with resentment that Emma would fight to comprehend if she wasn’t too busy worrying about Henry.

 

Because Emma wanted to know what this was all about. One minute, Snow and David were losing their shit about their archenemy in danger and saving her, and the other, they were giving her the cold shoulder and calling her out in every horrible thing she ever did. It didn’t help her to catch on in what was going on when Regina _cried_ because somehow they cared about her (or so Emma thought), but then she was telling them she had been trying to kill them all.

 

Emma needed to rest and stop conspiring. It wasn’t like she was remotivaly able to sleep, but staring at the ceiling while thinking about her son in danger was just driving her insane. Instead, she ended up doing pull-ups in a bar.

 

“Aw, don’t stop in my account,” Hook said when he entered in her quarters and she stopped.

 

“Wouldn’t think of it,” she rolled her eyes and continued.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Getting ready for a fight.” She gritted out.

 

“Well, I’ve never known you need to get ready for a fight. I thought it was a natural state.”

 

Tired, Emma faced him. “What do you want?”

 

“You seemed a bit… overwhelmed over there,” he gave as an excuse, and she raised her brows, clearly unamused.

 

“My son is held captive by a psychopath, I have a reason to be overwhelmed.”

 

“Touché.”

 

Then the ship started shaking, and the team was facing yet another attack.

  


* * *

 

Henry was safe. They were going home and Emma almost didn’t let go of him when Regina was taking him to rest. Neal was alive, and, even after what she said on the Eco Cave, Emma could feel the relief at knowing that Henry still had his dad and that everything was relatively okay, for once.

 

The Jolly Roger was flying back to Storybrooke, both Hook and Neal looked like they wanted to approach her, and Emma was trying to avoid that as she wondered how in the hell she managed to get into a love triangle. As if her life wasn’t enough of a mess already.

 

Her parents excused themselves to their quarters, and she went to hers, where she found Regina was already there.

 

“So… Finally going back home,” she commented awkwardly.

 

“With Henry,” Regina said in a soft voice.

 

“With Henry,” she couldn’t help but smile. “So, listen, I need to know. What is the deal with you and Mary Margaret and David?”

 

Regina arched an eyebrow and said slowly, like she was stupid, “Years of mutual loathing and resentment.”

 

“No, I get that, but… It feels like it’s been different lately” Emma shook her head. “I don’t know.”

 

The former queen looked lost in thought for a second, frowning a bit, but she ended shaking her head with a skeptical look and a ‘don’t-be-silly’ laugh. “Don’t- I-,” she stammered, to both of their surprises. “I- Nothing has changed. And if it had, it’s none of business. I need to go.”

 

She practically ran out of there, and Emma sighed. Just when she thought she was getting somewhere at getting to know this woman. But then, Emma thought a little about what just happened. That was weird. She opened the door and took a peek at her surroundings. There was Regina, walking in circles while looking conflicted, occasionally eyeing at Snow and Charming’s quarters. The woman sighed then, shaking her head to herself before walking towards her own quarters, meaning Emma’s, who closed the door quickly before the woman could see her spying her.

 

At the end, it took Regina a few more minutes before she came in. This time with news. “Pan tried to attack Henry,” she said.

 

“What?” Emma panicks.

 

“But Gold got it under control and trapped Pan in the Pandora box,” Regina added, making Emma sigh in relief.

 

It wasn’t until the next day, back in Storybrooke, that they realized Pan had body-swapped with Henry. But by the time they get Henry back to his own body the Dark Curse was already cast and Emma had to leave with him as Regina saved the day, again.

  


* * *

 

It wasn’t until after a year that Emma returned to Storybrooke, memories back and another curse to solve. Henry, though, wasn’t so lucky; there wasn’t enough memory potion for him (but when Emma thought about it, that wasn’t all that bad).

 

Nobody remembered anything that happened in the called ‘missing year’, though they did know who they were, which was one problem less to deal with.

 

Snow was pregnant and she and David were totally smitten with the idea of parenthood, no matter that they had absolutely no warning before this whole… thing happened. And Emma was fine. She really was. She was happy for her parents and that they had this second chance, even when it only made Emma want to run far away from there and back to New York even more.

 

Then, there was Regina, looking like a kicked puppy every time she lied eyes on a Henry that didn’t remember her and oddly attached to her parents. Snow put her hand on Regina’s back every time she saw Henry, and Regina gave David advises about babies to which he always responded with a grateful smile that made Emma want to shake him and ask what happened in the two days of memory they actually had.

 

Also, Neal disappeared, again, just like tons of other people did since they came back to Storybrooke. But he eventually reappeared and died, leaving Emma to suffer again so they could know Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, was the villain they were facing, who also happened to be Regina’s half sister. Oh, and she had Gold’s dagger and was controlling him.

 

The witch was too powerful, and Emma had to learn magic from Regina again, but this time no parents objected. It was dangerous and Regina _had_ to be kidding when she thought it was a good idea to make her fall off of a bridge.

 

What Emma didn’t understand (besides Regina’s tendences of trying to kill her) was her parents. Especially when Regina came in on Granny’s one day with a beaming smile on her face. Snow teased her about it, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are smitten.”

 

And Regina deflected, “and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Häagen-Dazs has smit with your stomach.”

 

Which was fine, it was the most normalsy you could get out of Storybrooke. But when the meeting finished and Regina went back to whatever -- whoever she was planning to do, Snow’s smile watered and David hugged her tightly, kissing her temple. Emma grimaced and decided to leave them alone, though she did hear David’s words at Snow as she stepped out of the room.

 

“It’s okay,” he cooed. “We knew it would happen eventually.”

 

That only made Emma even more confused.

 

* * *

 

The curse was broken and everyone remembered everything, and Regina was being hugged by some guy while looking at Snow and Charming with so much realization and sorrow that Emma wished she could comprehend. Everyone knew what happened during the missing year on the Enchanted Forest except for Emma, and they were too busy celebrating to even think about explaining it to her.

 

Baby Neal was born, and her parents couldn’t be happier until Zelena came to ruin it all. She needed Snow’s baby to cast a time travel spell and change the past. Fortunately, Regina stopped her sister and saved everyone from being erased from their existence, quite literally. Zelena was staying in the sheriff station until they figured out what to do with her.

 

Emma brought Marian (Robin’s -- the guy that had Regina smitten -- dead wife) back from the death. Now Regina hated her for saving an innocent woman’s life and Emma was losing the only potential friend she had made in the last three years that didn’t turn up to be a relative.

 

Snow hugged her, because she understood what was like to hurt Regina without never meaning to in the first place. But everything got weird again after that. David and Snow were exchanging looks again, and having secrets conversations that Emma ended up eavesdropping to discover they regarded Regina and this Robin Hood.

 

“Honey, I think I should go to see her,” Snow said.

 

“Are you sure? You know our relationship has never been the easiest.”

 

“She needs someone with her right now, regardless of everything.”

 

“I know, I know. And I agree,” David said. “But we never actually talked about what happened in the Enchanted Forest. We promised a lot. We thought… Love is supposed to be stronger than anything.”

 

Emma realized her dad was crying when a sniff got to her ears, and she covered her mouth with her hands to silence a gasp as her mom began talking.

 

“It is. Love is stronger than anything,” Snow nodded stiffely, “and that’s why we are going to see her as friends. She loves Robin, and it- it’s fine.”

 

“But he broke her heart, he left her,” David argued.

 

“And if he loves her, he’ll go back to her,” Snow said. “With time. But right now, she needs friends, not-” she sighed, “-us… What if we both go to check on her?”

 

Emma was feeling dizzy, more lost than ever as she analyzed mentally what that conversation meant. She heard her parents get out of the loft, probably to see Regina. _As friends_ , they clarified, as if there was any other reason why they wanted to see her.

  


* * *

 

Emma observed every movement between the two women seated in front of her. They were currently just eating, Snow was relieved that Regina was finally out of her lonely confinement and in public. It was a miracle that she even accepted to be near Emma, and she had no idea what is it that Snow and David did to make her go from ‘my life is ruined’ to moving on. It probably had something to do with all those private conversations and secret codes that looked almost like they got them from Henry.

 

The kid, however, was eating beside her blissfully oblivious that his grandparents were hiding something, and kept smiling at his mother’s way, glad to see her again. Regina smiled back, obviously, but like Emma was watching too closely she noticed when the woman gave Snow a shy smile that Emma never thought she would ever see in that menace of a woman.

 

The diner’s bell rang and everybody looked up. Emma’s eyes widened when she saw Robin entering with Roland and Marian, and stopping on his tracks when he lied eyes on Regina. The former queen was all too aware of the man’s presence and she setted her jaw tightly, her shoulders tensed. Emma wished she had practiced her magic enough to make them disappear out of there and to somewhere where Regina would want to still be outside of her mansion. Snow put a comforting arm around Regina, surprising Emma and giving her more questions when the mayor relaxed into her mom’s embrace, to the point where she rested her head on her shoulder.

 

To her credit, Snow was pretty shocked herself, though way too comfortable with it. Robin and his family sat down away from them, and her mom ended up with her head over Regina’s, completely oblivious of how weird she was acting.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yes,” Regina nodded, slightly smiling at Snow. “I will be.”

 

Then it was when _Henry_ cleared her throat to get the women’s attention. They jumped and blushed when they realized what they were doing, hesitating only a little as they sat normally again.

 

Emma was losing her mind.

  


* * *

 

“Something weird is happening with Grams and Mom,” the kid commented as they walked to school.

 

Emma almost choked on air. “What do you mean?” She decided for the nonchalant answer.

 

“I think they are friends,” he said, and she breathed. “They’re hugging more lately.”

  


* * *

 

Emma was still with her conspiracy theories, even during family dinners. Especially during family dinners. She just couldn’t stand not knowing what was it that she was wrong. And she knew something was wrong when David and Snow shared secret smiles with Regina, they joked like old-times friends and Regina stared at them like it hurted.

 

Emma needed to know why.

 

“I made cookies,” Regina announced, and Emma could swear she saw David licking his lips. The former queen chuckled at him and squeezed his arm so fondly. “Not after dinner, darling.”

 

“Darling?” Emma and Henry questioned at once.

 

Regina swallowed, realizing her mistake, but acted like she heard nothing and said, “I am going to keep them in the kitchen. Nobody eats any,” she warned with a stern look at David. Emma and Henry exchanged glances but kept themselves quiet. The cookies had also catched the kid’s eye, and he was trying to get closer to steal some. “That goes for you too, Henry!” Regina said then, slapping Henry’s hand away.

 

Emma sticked with Neal, preferring to focus on her baby talk. “We are all crazy here, aren’t we? We are.” She whispered him. And she watched her mom snitching one of the cookies, Regina clearly noticing it but pretending she saw nothing.

 

Yes, they were all crazy.

  


* * *

 

The baby didn’t stop crying, and Emma wanted to sleep. It was 3 in the morning. She was going to kill somebody if her parents couldn’t shut Neal up.

 

With a groan, she slipped out of the bed, where somehow Henry was still asleep, and she went downstairs. Her mom was almost crying with Neal in frustration and her dad was losing his sanity as he searched a pacifier, or a stuffed animal, or both.

 

“Emma!” Snow said when she noticed her presence. “I don’t know what else to do. He won’t stop crying!”

 

David yelled over the crying to talk on the phone, “Regina, please. We need your help.”

 

Before he finished that sentence, purple smoke appeared on the living room and Regina looked at them with alarmed eyes. “Snow, David, what’s going on?”

 

“We’re sorry, Regina. We shouldn’t have bothered you with this but…” David said, and Regina lied eyes on Neal. “He won’t stop crying.”

 

“Don’t be sorry. It’s perfectly fine to ask for help,” she said, but eyed Emma with a look that said ‘why are you standing over there like nothing?’

 

She took Neal in her arms and magicked a rattle, soothing the baby as she rocked him.

 

“How did you do that?” Snow said, with a look of awe but also sadness.

 

“It takes time, you’ll learn,” Regina smiled sympathetically. “Now go rest, you two. I’ll take care of him.”

 

“But it’s late and-” Snow looked horrified. “Oh God, it’s so late and we woke you up for this. I’m so sorry!”

 

“Nonsense,” Regina waved her off. “You need a good eight hours of sleep.”

 

They obeyed hesitantly, leaving Emma standing in the living room with Regina. In that moment, she realized how tired Regina actually was, that she was in her pajamas and her feet were only covered in socks. When David called all worried, Regina didn’t even pause to poof herself some clothes. She just... came, no questions asked, just caring that they needed her.

 

Now that Emma was alone with her again, she remembered that Regina was still not talking to her -- except when it was about Henry or they weren’t alone and Regina forced herself to put a good face.

 

“Well, I should probably…” she gestured towards her bedroom.

 

“Yes. Go to sleep, Miss Swan,” Regina said coldly, and Emma rolled her eyes at the ‘Miss Swan’ but went back to bed.

  


* * *

 

Okay, Emma couldn’t stand it anymore. Regina kept giving her the cold shoulder, and all Emma wanted was for them to be friends. So she went down the woman’s vault, stopping on her tracks when she found her seated in the stairs, putting on her heels.

 

Regina whipped her head at her way when she heard someone coming in, “Miss Swan,” she widened her eyes, “what the hell are you doing here?”

 

Emma looked down the woman’s shirt, finding it open, showing off her bra. Then she realized how Regina’s hair was disheveled, as if she just… _Oh God_. “I- I just wanted to talk to you. Is it a good time?”

 

“No. In fact it is no-”

 

“Regina, do you think that-.” A third voice joined, and Emma looked up to Robin, who was barefoot and in a tank top, fortunately wearing pants. “Oh. Emma, this is not what it seems.”

 

Emma arched a brow. “It seems like you cheated on your wife.”

 

“Please, don’t-”

 

“Robin,” Regina turned to him, with a smile that Emma learned to recognize as her ‘Fake Smile’. “May you leave us alone? I need to talk about something with her.”

 

“Oh, of course,” he said, and ended up dressing before he kissed Regina’s cheek. “I’ll speak with you later?”

 

Regina gave him a not very convincing nod and a strained smile. He left and she raised a brow at Emma with a scowl. “What do you want?”

 

“Did you two just…?” Regina tucked her head as a blush tinted her cheeks. “I’ll take that a yes. Why, Regina?”

 

“Why did I sleep with a married man?” She deadpanned.

 

“Yes! You deserve much better than that.”

 

“Why do you care? When are you going to understand, Swan? I want you to _go away_.”

 

“Because, whether you like it or not, I’m your friend.” Emma bit her lip, and when she didn’t get an answer, she sighed, “I just wanted you to know that.”

  


* * *

 

“I think Regina is back with Robin.”

 

“But… I just saw him with Marian.”

 

“I never said he left Marian.” She inspected carefully Snow’s face as it dropped. “You okay?”

 

“Yes,” she immediately smiled. “Everything’s fine.”

 

It wasn’t. And Emma heard her confront with Regina about it. Regina raised her voice and David intervened at the end, sweet-talking both of them and then a comfortable silence filled the room. Emma wanted more than anything to take a glance at them to see what was going on.

  


* * *

 

Emma walked down the stairs of Regina’s vault, almost expecting to find the woman half naked or something. Because, apparently, the only place Regina and Robin thought adequate to have an affair in was there.

 

But this time she didn’t find a shirtless Robin Hood and a flushed Regina. She found a voice, Regina’s, talking to someone. Probably on her phone. Emma hid behind a corner.

 

“Oh, he did? Well, that doesn’t change the fact it’s never going to work.”

 

Oh. _Oh_. She must be talking about Robin, probably about breaking up with him.

 

“Did I not mention the fact that a lot of people will get hurt? There’s Henry and Emma, and this entire town will certainly think I put a spell on you,” she ranted, making the blonde frown. Emma took a peek of the woman, and found her open-mouthed, with healthy blush on her face as she took a sharp breath. “This isn’t the time for dirty talk, Snow! This is serious.”

 

The blood left Emma’s face, and it wasn’t long before everything went black.

  


* * *

 

David was sick, which meant he was getting full-time care from Snow.

 

Meanwhile, Emma couldn’t look at Snow in the face without flushing in embarrassment, nor she could talk to her dad without remembering that his wife was cheating on him with their former enemy. And then she crossed Regina, who smiled at her oh so hopeful and tried to be her friend after what she told her in the vault, and Emma didn’t want to talk to her. She didn’t know what to do.

 

She should tell David. No, bad idea. That would break his heart to pieces. Also, weren’t her parents supposed to be True Loves? Then why would her mom even think about cheating? Maybe she should tell him. It would hurt at first but he would know the truth at least.

 

Emma was about to talk to David when someone entered the loft. Regina, of all people. She had just finished work and decided to pass by to check on David. Emma scowled at the former queen, who blinked back at her a little surprised.

 

“How are you feeling?” She asked him.

 

“A bit better now,” he replied with a slight smile.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t have expected anything else when Snow is taking care of you,” she sat at the end of the bed and patted his knee. Emma clenched her fists and decided that, once Regina left, she would tell her dad the truth.

 

“What’s up, honey?” He asked when she approached him.

 

“Listen, there’s something you need to know,” she took a deep breath, and David waited attentively. “I think Mom and Regina are having an affair.”

 

“Oh,” he looked down. “How do you know?”

 

Emma narrowed her eyes trying to read him better. “I was going to Regina’s vault and I heard them talking on the phone.”

 

“Oh, okay. I- I have to talk to your mother,” he said then, never meeting Emma’s eyes. She nodded.

  


* * *

 

Telling David was useless, it seemed. He and Snow kept being a loving couple, and he never faced her about what Emma told him. So now Emma was not only frustrated, but disappointed.

 

She decided then that she had to talk to Regina, though she didn’t know what she planned to say yet. Emma knocked on Regina’s front door, and when no one answered she picked the lock. Regina wasn’t escaping from her, they were going to have a conversation whether she liked it or not. She walked through the door, hearing a few muffled sounds that made her frown. She followed them, and then she wished she hadn’t.

 

In the living room were Regina, Snow and David. From where Emma was standing, she couldn’t hear very well what they were talking about, but she hoped David was finally going to face them about the affair. But it seemed that it wasn’t that, because what happened next was what Emma wished to forget.

 

Snow was filling her husband’s face with kisses as Regina unbuttoned his shirt, David’s hands touching Regina’s naked back, Regina’s naked waist, Regina’s naked hips, Regina’s naked… Emma shuddered, having seen enough to be scarred for life.

 

“Oh my God,” her eyes widened, then she closed them tight. “My eyes! My eyes!”

 

“Emma,” Snow yelped, as mortified as her...lovers.

 

“This is not what it looks like,” David said.

 

“Don’t, dad,” Emma made a nauseated face. “I don’t want to know.” She slowly opened her eyes and sighed in relief when she saw them separated and completely dressed. David had his shirt buttoned and Regina’s dress was on. Emma was thankful that at least she didn’t see anything of her parents, though she felt like she was about to throw up. “I- I thought you two,” she pointed at Regina and Snow, “where having an affair. But turns out, you were all involved in- in whatever it is that you…” she trailed off.

 

“We are in a relationship,” Regina confessed and bit her lower lip.

 

Emma frowned, “like… all together?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But, how- what-” Emma wanted for earth to swallow her. “Why?”

 

“Listen, Emma,” the woman said, walking towards her. “I know all of this is a bit too much to take in.” Emma scoffed, but that didn’t stop Regina from almost begging, “but no one can know about this, about us. People would get crazy, and it would affect all of us. It would affect Henry.”

 

Emma clenched her jaw, but nodded. “Okay. But why hide it from your own family? From me? We are all adults here.”

 

None of them said anything. So Emma shook her head and left the mansion, unable to be around them for another second.

 

* * *

 

She just wanted to drink her cocoa alone, but Regina had to sit beside her. She hadn’t been talking with her parents, not wanting to hear their excuses as to why they lied to her.

 

“I don’t wanna talk with you right now, Regina,” she sighed.

 

“I know. I know, and I understand,” Regina said, and Emma looked up suspiciously. “But, I just wanted to tell you that it wasn’t easy for your parents,” and at her puzzled look she added, “to keep it from you. They want to be public more than anything and it kills them not being able to express their feelings to the world.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Emma said. “They ‘express their feelings’ all time. All the kissing, and hugging… It’s kind of gross actually. I mean, what are they doing with you, hooking up?” She asked in a whisper. “They just wanted to spice things up a little?”

 

“I love them,” Regina answered bluntly.

 

“What? You were serious about the relationship thing?” Emma gaped as Regina nodded. “But weren’t you madly in love with Robin?”

 

“Well, I liked him,” she said with a doubtful expression. “I mean, before I remembered the missing year and...everything.”

 

“Yeah, what about that? You never tell me anything about the missing year.”

 

“That’s when we got back together.”

 

Emma nodded with a frown, but then she realized, “what do you mean by ‘back’?”

 

Regina pressed her lips for a few seconds before she shook her head. “Look, you should ask your parents. I think they’d prefer to be the ones talking about this with you.”

  


* * *

 

Emma stared as David pecked Snow’s lips and she couldn’t help but eye at Regina. The former queen was smiling slightly, looking yearnily at them -- something that had confused Emma so many times before knowing the truth, and now she could see what was that… _thing_ in Regina’s eyes every time the family was together. Emma, although, still wasn’t able to grasp the fact that her parents were in- were sleeping-. She grimaced and thought about it for a full minute. Her parents were dating Regina. That’s it!

 

Nope, not any better. She still was traumatized at the mere thought of her parents and her (potential) friend being…affectionate with each other. And the most PG wording she could find wasn’t helping the matters.

 

But then Emma would see them and how they looked at each other -- how David pulled away from Snow and eyed Regina like he wanted to peck her lips, too; how they were in the couch, laughing at a silly story Snow was telling, and Regina would lean a little too close to her; how Regina had no boundaries on putting a hand casually on David’s chest, that had nothing of casual now that Emma knew what was really going on -- and couldn’t ruin that for them, weirdness aside. Snow and David looked very happy. And so did Regina.

 

So Emma just smiled and let them be. She would keep it a secret from Henry until Regina decided to tell him, and until they decided to finally come out.

  


* * *

 

“So, you guys have been dating during the curse? How did I miss that?”

 

“It was hard. Ironically, we hated at the time so much that Regina was the one that kept us together.”

 

“More like, you hated me, I missed you.”

 

Snow laughed and kissed him.

  


* * *

 

Henry kept narrowing his eyes at his mom. And no, not Emma, but Regina.

 

It was pretty suspicious, and not in the way of ‘you are not my real mom’ and ‘you lied to me’ way. He was looking at Regina like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Emma wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. Well, she did. After all, this was about her son and her friend, and she didn’t want anything to ruin their relationship again.

 

“So…” she said from behind him, making him jump. “What’s the operation?”

 

He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to look innocent. It wasn’t working. “What are you talking about?”

 

“I know something’s going on. So spill.”

 

Henry smirked, so alike her mother (Regina, not her) and said, “it’s need to know, mom.”

 

“That is not fair!” She whined, and he had the audacity to cackle.

  


* * *

 

“But I’m tired, Snow!”

 

It was late in the night, Henry was in the mansion and Neal was being babysitted. Her parents were supposed to be on their way to a date, and Emma was going to have the loft all to herself. Instead, her parents were fighting (loudly), and Emma was doomed to pull her pillow over her head and groan when it still wouldn’t swallow the yelling away.

 

“David, please,” Snow begged. “You said you understood. We all did.”

 

“I used to. But it’s been a long time, and I hate that Regina is like… a dirty little secret, because she’s not. I want us all to have a regular relationship.”

 

“You know that’s not possible.”

 

“Is it?” David resorted. “Regina is finally okay with being with us, after all the internal conflict she’s been through. And I honestly don’t care what everyone thinks anymore. You are the one that has a problem with it.”

 

“And you said it was okay, that you respected it and were going to wait until I was ready. Were you lying?”

 

“No, of course not, Snow. But things has changed, and I have waited too long,” he said firmly. “Why is it so hard for you to come out?”

 

“Because we are not normal!” She blurted out.

 

He was speechless. “W-what?”

 

“I mean, I love what we have. With Regina. I’ve never been happier. We have our daughter, our son, our grandson… Our girlfriend,” Snow let out a breathy laugh. “But still, nobody has what we have, just regular true love couples. We are...abnormal. Really, how do you think this is going to end? With us introducing Regina as our girlfriend and the town being okay with it? They’ll believe she cursed us, or call her our -- your mistress, in the best case scenario. I would love to believe that they won’t, that everything is going to be great and have hope. But this time, I can’t. I’ve been through this before, how everyone seems to be on our side but the minute we do something politically wrong, their loyalty is meaningless.”

 

Emma couldn’t hear anything else, they were silent. Suddenly, the door was slammed close, and Emma flinched, just like Mary Margaret did downstairs before she cried silently.

  


* * *

 

“Where is dad?” She asked the next morning.

 

“Out,” Snow said with a fake smile.

 

Emma nodded, focusing on drinking her coffee.

  


* * *

 

David was ‘out’ for three days before he came back home. Snow was hugging him tightly as they murmured apologizes in each other’s ears, and Emma could breathe in peace while she wondered where her dad had been in the last few days. She supposed her mom knew, otherwise Snow would had been worried sick about him and making calls nonstop.

 

Emma had seen her checking on her phone every time she got a little antsy, though. And every time she ended up sighing in relief at the screen and sitting down being just a bit calmer. Emma figured Snow had gotten messages from David to let her know he was fine. Emma, however, preferred to stay away from her parents relationship and let them solve things on their own -- though she did think in going to Regina and see if she could do something. After all, it had been the first time Emma saw them away from each other willingly.

 

“Thank God,” Emma exhaled. “I thought I was going have to force you to talk. I’m glad you guys figured things out.” They just exchanged an odd look and looked away. Emma frowned. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing,” they quickly answered at once, aggravating Emma’s suspicions.

 

She shook her head in disbelief. “Fine, whatever, don’t tell me.”

 

She stood up and left before they could respond.

  


* * *

 

Emma knocked the door, fidgeting nervously as she waited for it to open. When it did, she blew air out and looked up at Regina. “Hi, Regina.”

 

“Emma,” she raised her brows in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I wanted to talk to you. About my parents.”

 

“Oh,” Regina dropped her gaze. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. But we can talk about your pirate and his tendency to use his boat size to overcompensate _other_ things.”

 

“Okay, firstly, it’s not a boat, it’s a ship. And secondly, he isn’t my pirate.”

 

“Well, maybe. But something tells me he wants to be,” she winked, and Emma rolled her eyes.

 

“I just need to know what’s going on with them.”

 

“The pirate and his ship?”

 

“My parents!” She said exasperated.

 

“Right. They fought.”

 

The blonde couldn’t help but roll her eyes again. “That’s clear. I heard them fight before David left for a few days, and it was about you, I think.”

 

Regina nodded with a guilty expression. “Yes, I know.”

 

“You know?”

 

“Of course I know, they told me,” she replied, seemingly offended at the suggestion she wouldn’t what was happening with her partners.

 

“Right,” Emma muttered dryly. “What did they tell you?”

 

“To be frank, Emma, it’s none of your business.” And before Emma could get offended, she continued, “you should stay out of your parents’ relationship. Because it’s, well, your parents’.”

 

“But-”

 

“And don’t even think about meddling,” she added expressly. “We have to let them figure this out on their own.”

 

“Wait, you’re not going to do anything either?”

 

“It’s not my place.”

 

Emma begged to differ. “But you’re the one in a _relationship_ with them!”

 

“And yet, this is between them. It doesn’t matter how much I want to interfere, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to get in between their problems.”

 

“Could you please just talk to them?” Emma pleaded. “I mean, they hugged and all, but…” she sighed. “They’re acting weird.”

 

“Weird?”

 

“Like, ‘there’s a big elephant in the room so we avoid talking about everything to avoid talking about the elephant’ weird.”

 

“Okay,” Regina surrendered. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  


* * *

 

So Regina’s big plan was to take Snow and David out for brunch. Emma was casually passing by the diner when she saw them, alone and without kids or friends around except Ruby, because she happened to be a waitress.

 

They looked fine. They were laughing, and smiling, and not being weird for the first time in a week. Which didn’t seem like a lot of time unless you are the one adult living with them. How did Regina achieve that? She must had underestimated herself and her importance to her parents if she thought she couldn’t end their fight -- or whatever that was.

 

“Hey, guys,” she said as she entered Granny’s.

 

“Hello, Emma,” Regina greeted her, and her parents smiled at her.

 

“Everything okay?”

 

“Everything is wonderful,” Snow replied, and Emma breathed out a laugh.

 

Her mom was genuinely beaming again.

  


* * *

 

“So, I just had the weirdest conversation with Mom,” Henry said when she picked him up from the mansion.

 

“Oh?”

 

“She was asking me this questions about what I think about same sex couples and polyamorous relationships.”

 

That made Emma stop on her tracks. Were her parents and Regina ready to come out? There was no other explanation to why Regina would even think on mentioning polyamory to Henry if it was for that. But that also meant that her parents were going public too, and everyone would know the truth.

 

“Mom?” Henry said when he noticed she stopped and was silent.

 

“I’m sorry. Yes, Henry?”

 

“I’ve been having this theory for a while,” he said, reminding her that he had been watching Regina suspiciously, but she had been too busy with her parents’ drama to focus on that. “I think Mom is seeing someone. Like, dating someone.”

 

“Hmmm, do you know who?”

 

“So it’s true,” he said excited.

 

“I didn’t say that, I just wanted to know more about this operation.”

 

“It’s Operation Tortoise. And no,  I don’t know who is Mom’s boyfriend,” Henry murmured with disappointment in his voice. “But, after today… Do you think she could be with two people?”

 

Emma looked up in surprise, and took this opportunity to clear some doubts and relieve Regina from the obvious panic she was going through. “Would you have a problem with that?”

 

Henry crunched his face as he thought about it, and then shook his head. “It would be weird, but I don’t think so. She’s been happier lately, did you know? I don’t want to ruin it.”

 

“Why would you?”

 

“Because I know Mom would do anything if I asked her. Even end a relationship just because I don’t like it,” he gave Emma a pointed look, and she nodded.

 

She had to tell Regina.

  


* * *

 

Emma heard laughter downstairs. It was early in the morning and she was wondering why they had to be so loud. She slipped out of the covers, annoyed, and looked down to see she found Henry hugging Regina tightly and Snow and David wrapping them both with their arms. Regina was crying and laughing in happiness at the same time.

 

“What’s going on down there?” She raised her voice to get their attention.

 

Henry beamed at her. “I was right. Mom has a boyfriend, and a girlfriend. She’s with Grandma and Grandpa.”

 

Emma didn’t mention that she already knew, she just ran downstairs and joined them. She laughed too when David kissed Regina’s lips freely and Henry grimaced with a ‘gross’ under his breath. Not because it was funny. It was everything but funny. She laughed because this was happiness for them, no matter what was waiting for them once the town knew the truth. She laughed in joy because her parents finally got their happy ending, and this time it wasn’t a book or Fate the one doing it, it was all them. They fought for it, and they got it.

 

They deserved it, and Emma would be damned if she let anyone ruin it. But she didn’t think too much about it right now. Her parents finally came out to family, and they were happy. They had to celebrate.

 

That thought gave Emma an idea. “Breakfast at Granny’s?”

 

The trio exchanged looks and shrugged with a smile. “Sure, why not?”

 

They walked to Granny’s, Henry asking excitedly all kind of questions about his mom’s new relationship that were innocent enough for Regina to answer them, though hesitantly. Emma could see that her parents’ shoulders were tense as they listened Regina and Henry’s conversation -- probably because it still was a sensitive topic for them.

 

“Henry, you said Grace invited you to her birthday party?” She said, and he nodded, confused. “When is it again?”

 

Regina sighed, relieved for the change in the conversation until they got to Granny’s and she tensed again. Emma looked at her parents, and saw them in a similar situation. They entered the diner and sat down. Once they ordered, Emma kept distracting Henry from what he really wanted to talk about, especially now that they were inside Granny’s, where everybody could hear him, and the three of them were so panicked about it.

 

But for a second, Emma got distracted, and that was long enough for Henry to remind what he was talking about before they came in. “Mom, when did you realize-”

 

“Henry,” she interrupted. “Not here, okay?”

 

“But-” he pouted.

 

“No one else knows yet, and you have to keep it quiet until your mother and your grandparents decide to tell everyone else,” she explained him, and he nodded.

 

Emma looked at her parents again, and found them exchanging an odd look with Regina. This time she couldn’t guess what it meant. David sighed and stood up to the diner, confusing Emma even more.

 

“Listen, everyone,” he called, getting the people’s attention.

 

“David, what are you doing?” Emma whispered at him.

 

He ignored her. “Snow and I are dating Regina,” he announced naturally.

 

She widened her eyes as she heard a murmur around the diner. Then there was silence, and everybody went back to their own business. Snow, Regina and David just kept talking and eating without explaining. The former queen’s hand was in Snow’s back, giving them all a new sense of normalcy, and Emma was left with her mouth wide open, staring disbelievingly at the calm diner.

 

“Seriously?” She whispered to herself.

 

Apparently, Emma was still the only one confused about what was happening.


End file.
